CrucisSt. Aelred of Rievaulx
St. Aelred of Rievaulx was born in 1110 at Hexham in northern England, and died on 12 January 1167 at Rievaulx Abbey. He spent his youth at the court of King David I of Scotland, where he was much loved, before leaving worldly honor to enter the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx in Yorkshire. There his gifts of wisdom and gentleness led him to be chosen abbot, and under his care the community flourished and grew.
He is best known as a spiritual writer, above all for his treatise Spiritual Friendship, which draws on Cicero but transforms classical friendship into a path to God, teaching that true friendship is rooted in Christ and can lead the soul toward divine love. His Mirror of Charity and other works made him one of the most attractive voices of the twelfth-century Cistercian renewal, and he is venerated as a saint.
Selected quotes
“Love of self, rightly ordered, is not selfishness but the precondition of all true love of neighbor and of God.”
“The charity that does not extend to enemies is incomplete; perfect love has no exceptions.”
“The mirror of charity reflects the soul to itself — and in that reflection shows how far we have yet to grow.”